Mid-Term Break - Seamus Heaney On my first Sonne - Ben Jonson Which

Mid-Term Break - Seamus Heaney On my first Sonne - Ben Jonson Which

poem expresses the experience of grief best?

On my first Sonne is a very direct way of expressing the grief that

occurs when a child in the family dies. It is about the feelings that

Ben Jonson goes through, and the poem describes his emotions and

thoughts in detail. On the other hand, Mid-Term Break uses indirect

ways to portray grief, by describing events that happen after the

death.

"Farewell, thou child". On my first Sonne openly addresses the

deceased boy in the poem. The poem is to him, and about him. Ben

Jonson uses faith to help him through the bereavement. Biblical

phrases ("child of my right hand", "my sinne was" and "all his vowes")

are scattered through the text. Jonson's thoughts are deeply Christian

("tho'wert lent to me" and "the state he should envie").

"O, could I loose all father, now." Here he candidly expresses his

feelings by crying out to God. He speaks bluntly about the grief he is

experiencing, and tries to reason with it as well by using

Christianity concepts, "For why / Will man lament the state he should

envie?". He curses himself for putting too much love and faith into

the boy, almost believing in him too much ("my sinne was too much hope

of thee, lov'd boy").

I think that On my first Sonne is a poem towards God and the deceased,

but it is written for the comfort of Ben Jonson himself, to reassure

him about his son's death. The poem is very emotional, and very

involved.

On my first Sonne uses a regular rhythm, with occasionally rhymes.

This creates a profound effect, and this in emphasised in certain

places, for example "and I thee pay / Exacted by fate, on the just

day." The regularity of the rhy...

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think about his brother's death, and then approaches his brother

alone. The phrase "wearing a poppy bruise" has overtones of death

(poppies are associated with Remembrance day), but also the fact that

he is "wearing" a bruise rather than having a bruise indicates that he

is not normally in that state, and the poet does not see him as such.

The rhythm works best in this poem in the final line, "a four foot

box, a foot for every year". The slow pace stresses the tragedy of the

event, and gives an insight into the mind of the poet, after he has

had a chance to think about it.

In conclusion, I believe that the poem Mid-Term Break the experience

of grief better than On my first Sonne, because I prefer an indirect

approach to the emotions surrounding bereavement. The style of writing

and context make it more modern, and makes it seem more relevant.